The Tampa Bay Rays got scoreless outings from Colin Poche, Jalen Beeks, and Andrew Kittredge, and Miles Mastrobuoni and Curtis Mead each drove in a pair of runs, but the Baltimore Orioles rallied in the bottom of the ninth for a 7-6 decision Tuesday at Ed Smith Stadium.
Each of the first three Tampa Bay pitchers allowed a run in their outing. Josh Fleming gave up a RBI double to Trey Mancini in the first, while Jeffrey Springs allowed a homer to Cedric Mullins in the third and Jorge Mateo’s solo shot off Luke Bard came an inning later.
Mastrobuoni’s two-run shot in the fifth off former Ray Chris Ellis tied the game, and Taylor Walls’ RBI double in the sixth broke the tie.
Mead added a run-scoring single of his own later in the inning to make it 5-3, and Ryan Spikes’ RBI double in the eighth gave the Rays a 6-3 advantage.
Jacob Nottingham got Baltimore back to within 6-4 with a RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, and Cristofer Ogando loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, and Kelvin Gutierrez finished the game off with a bases-clearing double.
Tampa Bay will look to start a new winning streak Wednesday when they head to North Port for another matchup with the Atlanta Braves. Right-handler Luis Patino will make his spring debut, with first pitch is scheduled for 1:05.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
